Hoffarth: Giving thanks for memories of Chick Hearn on his 100th birthday

Someone must have access to a giant portable popcorn machine. And the time to wheel it over to Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. And then in as dignified manner as possible, plug it in just left of the grotto near the gated entrance.

You’ve arrived at the gravestone of Francis “Chick” Hearn, one he shares with Marge and has the Lakers logo etched into the center.

Sunday marks the anniversary of his 100th birthday.

Such a nice round number that hits us squarely in the heart.

As much as we can get numb with how numerals measure achievement in the sports forum, the legacy of one of our most revered Southern California sportscasters always circles back to those age-old questions.

When Hearn passed away in 2002, he was 85 and still humming behind the mike, fresh off heart valve replacement surgery that set him back a little.

Vin Scully, who called it a career after 67 seasons with the Dodgers, turns 89 on Tuesday. USC voice Tom Kelly almost made it to 89 before his passing last June.

Bob Miller, in the middle of a reduced schedule of Kings play-by-play assignments, and longtime Clippers voice Ralph Lawler each had their 78th birthday this year. They’re a couple of years behind Dick Enberg, who’ll reach 82 in January, hitting his mark with the Angels, Rams, UCLA basketball and whatever else KTLA/5 once gave him, and he gave back to us before deciding last month he’d be moving on to new sports challenges.

Years speed by way too fast when you’re having too much fun to even consider their worthiness or real meaning.

As a city, on a Thanksgiving weekend, there has to be renewed gratitude for our broadcasting icons (we refrain from referring to Scully in particular as a “Giant” in any way, shape or form) who somehow all transplanted their lives and families into becoming part of ours. Not just describing the games we came to find and appreciate on the radio and TV, but teaching us the rules, the nuances and connecting historical dots when we might be paying full attention.

They’ve been sneaky brilliant, giving us the foundation to shape our opinions, loyalties and levels of enthusiasm and angst as the years and seasons blended from one to the other.

Individually, they’d have superstar status in any other sports city. Collectively, most achieved Hollywood Walk of Fame status here.

None of them are ever to be replaced, so that word isn’t even considered in the discussion. Others come in and fulfill the duties, which all of them once did when an opening occurred. Their staying power depends on their impact, and comparing their styles and legacies can make for some interesting measuring sticks.

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